Shibu Soren to appear before Giridih court

Dumka, Sept 26: Former Union Minister Shibu Soren will appear before a Giridih court today in connection with the 1974 Kurko murder case today. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Soren is an accuse along with some others, who had allegedly murdered Balbir Rai of Kurko village in Giridih District, for killing a goat.

Earlier, Additional Sessions and District Judge R M Tiwari had posted the case for today as none of the witnesses came to court. However, Soren appeared before the court.

Soren has been acquitted in connection with his private secretary, Shashi Nath Jha, murder case.

The Delhi High Court had acquitted Soren along with four other convicts -- Nand Kishore Mehta, Shailendra Bhattacharya, Pashupati Nath Mehta and Ajay Kumar Mehta.

A local court had on December 26, 2006 sentenced Soren and four others to life imprisonment for kidnapping and killing Jha.

The JMM leader had challenged his conviction and life sentence in connection with the murder case, which took place in 1992.

Prosecutors said Jha went missing from the Dhaula Kuan area of Delhi on May 22, 1992, and was last seen in Ranchi in the company of Soren loyalists the next day.

They claim that Jha was later murdered as he allegedly possessed knowledge about the money received by JMM MPs, including Soren, from former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao to vote in favour of his minority government in Parliament in 1993.

ANI>